As companies look beyond traditional marketing channels to reach and influence consumers, a surprising player has emerged: LinkedInwith retailers expanding the platform beyond B2B to B2C.
AmazonFor example, he has 31 million followers on the platform. The company publishes articles about new products, sales events and shopping inspiration in addition to the typical content that is more focused on attitude and commitment. Similar, Nike posts news about brands and products for his 6 million followers and Patagonia communicates with its 1 million followers about the brand’s ecocentric ethos with relevant, nature-related content.
While LinkedIn may not seem like the obvious choice for customer engagement, as the platform has traditionally been considered a professional networking platform, its unique positioning and solid user base make it an attractive opportunity for retailers looking to reach a more sophisticated and influential audience.
The platform promotes a Member base of more than 1 billion, with the monthly active user base estimated to be in the low three-digit million range. The network is also gaining market share among the types of consumers who are open to social commerce. The platform’s fastest growing target audience are Generation Z.
Most Generation Z consumers shop via social media. The PYMNTS Intelligence study “Pursuing the takeover of digital payments: monetizing social media” is based on a survey of nearly 3,000 U.S. consumers about how they search for and purchase goods and services on social media platforms. Supplementary data from the report showed that 68% of Gen Z consumers searched for or purchased products on social media, compared to just 43% of the general population.
LinkedIn’s audience consists of highly engaged professionals who tend to have more money to spend, making the user base particularly attractive to merchants.
“LinkedIn members are not only more likely to own more high-value items (e.g. cars, tech devices, or mutual funds), but they also report that spending more time on LinkedIn makes them more motivated to save for or against money. buy these goods,” wrote Regina DowdellSenior Content Solutions Consultant at LinkedIn, found that users tend to trust the content on the platform.
LinkedIn influences consumer behavior primarily through its thought leadership. Retailers can use the platform to establish themselves as industry experts and share insights, trends, and innovations. By positioning themselves as thought leaders, retailers can build trust and credibility with a highly targeted audience. AirbnbFor example, shares travel content with its 3 million followers, while RedBull presents stories from the areas of sports and adventure to its 1 million followers.
In addition, social commerce can be particularly effective for food and beverage brands. The PYMNTS Intelligence report “Connected Dining: Word of Mouth in the Digital Age“” found that 37% of diners search for restaurant information by viewing content from a restaurant’s social media page. This rises to 42% among Gen Z and 46% among Millennials.
Starbucks, for his part posts information about menu updates and MC Donalds does the same for his 2 million.
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